Democrat Chides Media

Reprinted with permission from JMac Politics blog (he's one of my favorite authors, too, and I learned something new about him when I read his bio which is linked from the article):

Orson Scott Card Says It Like It Is!
Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, despite the fact that he's a die-hard, card carrying Democrat . Seriously, he is one of my favorite authors and I have lots of friends who are Democrats. We have quite a bit of fun sparring on the issues.

One thing that is rather cool (for me) is that he never has his photo in his books (or at least not the ones I've purchased). I finally got to see what he looks like when I read the article on the Meridian Magazine site... I know I could have done a search at any time and found a photo probably, but I really didn't care that much and once I put the book down any curiosity got closed inside the pages of the book.

If you haven't read Ender's Game and his many other books, go grab one. He really makes you think about things without realizing what you're doing! Fun read.The article below is a great read, and definitely doesn't fall into the fiction category. It is a fabulous article that amazes me. I bet we don't hear much about it given the topic! - Janet

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
By Orson Scott Card
Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans...
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

There's a difference between intelligent and slick!

Some lib types were discussing Sarah Palin's intelligence earlier today. It was clear they had received the daily-lib-robot-talk-memo as they simply parroted the same things that the Obamaprogrammers dictated.

They had fairly high praise for John McCain: they honored his service (gag) and didn't doubt his commitment to our country (double gag) but they had to question his judgement (ah ha, finally the real point!). He picked someone without experience who didn't have a command of the issues, who had only been a governor for a few years, who, who, who.... tell me that you can't complete the list!

The put her at the bottom of the scale in comparison to Obama, Biden and John McCain.

I listened, then interjected that it seemed to me they were getting slick and polished mixed up with intelligence.

I think John McCain is about as real as they get coming from Washington, but there's no denying you have to have a degree of slick and the ability to schmooze if you're going to last in Washington. He knows the ropes and still manages to be a maverick which is commendable!

Joe Biden doesn't schmooze, he oozes and fawns and is a chameleon talker. His colors change according to the makeup of the crowd. He likes to hear himself talk but doesn't listen to what he's saying.

Obama? They say he's a master at talking. He is the rock star who can do no wrong and say no wrong. He's just slick. He is not necessarily an accomplished speaker if you listen to his hemming and hawing, but he knows how to stir a crowd.

Sarah Palin is real. She can run circles around Biden and Obama, but because the liberal press is out to get her (they hear and obey), it's virtually impossible to get past their wall to reach people. Thank goodness for YouTube, videos and other mechanisms that bypass the mainstream media!

Thank goodness for blogs and websites and the Internet. Thank goodness for talk radio.

Sarah is down to earth and real, which is something that the media and many politicians have not encountered.

They're scared of Sarah. When I hear Sarah Palin talk I don't think "slick", I think George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and politicians of old who had character, stood for principles and fought for our freedoms.

I applaud John McCain for his character and his judgement in choosing this stellar running mate.

Definitely SCARED of Sarah!

The Democrats are SO scared of Sarah. She's causing them huge problems which means they have to try to attack and destroy. I'll be praying for Sarah and her family. I am thankful she is in the race and I hope the good people of America will stand with her and protect her from the evil that some on the liberal side are perpetrating.

Sarah Palin Rocks!

Who'd have ever guessed so much dynamite could be packed in such a pretty package? Yes, I'm a woman and I'm straight, but she is a good looking woman. Her husband is not bad on the eyes either. Beautiful kids, too.

She packed a wallop last night! I've had so much fun listening to the Democrats and the media trying to get a handle on her all day today! They don't know which end is up!

I imagine they won't stay that way for long though, they'll come up with some attack that will raise a liberal eyebrow or two.

What's funny is you can't turn on the radio or the TV without hearing Sarah Palin's name! She has turned everything upside down hasn't she?

Can you imagine what it'll be like having her up in Washington? Oh, it's going to be so much fun watching her as she works with John McCain to turn DC on its heels! I'm going to love it.

No matter what party you're from you have to know that it is going to be great to see the Washington insiders as they try to figure out how to handle a maverick who knows their secrets and knows how to do an end run around them! Couple McCain with the lady who put the Governor's airplane on eBay and life is going to be interesting in a few months when they take over.

Take that liberal bloggers... you're creating a strong force FOR Sarah Palin...

The title has nothing to do with the article below . But it's backfiring you liberal dummies. You're creating a monster and it's a beautiful, talented, strong group of women who're tired of you talking out of one side of your mouth with platitudes that don't extend to your feet, as in action and walking the walk. Tired of hearing one thing and seeing the opposite. It's time to take the media back from the media. Republicans and Independents, raise your children to write for the media, or better yet, just buy up the media conglomerates and do it right. Attacking Sarah Palin has shown many of us just who you are and what you really believe. You're firing up a nation and it's not in the way you intended.

In O'Fallon, Cheers For McCain And Palin
By Mark Schlinkmann and Michele Munz,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 1, 2008

Article Excerpt
Click here to read the entire article.

O'FALLON, Mo. -- John McCain presented his new vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to thousands of cheering Missouri supporters at a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon rally at the home of St. Charles County's minor league baseball team.

"She's exactly who I need," the Arizona senator said at a jam-packed T.R. Hughes Ballpark. "She's exactly what the country needs to fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second."

Many in the crowd seemed to agree, breaking out at one point in a chant of "Sar-ah, Sar-ah."
Wendy Riemann, a McCain spokeswoman, said about 23,000 people passed through security magnetometers to get into the park. They were in the stands, on the field and in other areas. An official with the River City Rascals, the team based at the park, gave a crowd estimate of 14,000.

The rally was in the heart of St. Charles County, an area rich with Republican votes where the size of the GOP turnout has been key in closely contested statewide races in recent years. The candidates' appearance was one in a series they plan before arriving at this week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

McCain recounted Palin's election as Alaska governor in 2006 and how she took on a "corrupt" political culture in her home state that he said had become a national disgrace.

He also said Palin had vetoed "one big pork-barrel bill after another" and, as a former union member, knows the struggles of average working people to pay their bills.

"When you get to know her, you're going to be as impressed as I am," McCain said. "She's got grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to common good."

Palin said she had fought special interests, lobbyists, oil companies and "the good-old boy network." She also said she had opposed the oft-criticized "Bridge to Nowhere" — a sparsely populated island — that an Alaskan in Congress had tried to get funded.

Thousands stood for more than an hour in heat that reached nearly 90 degrees to get into the ballpark. At one point, the line to get into the ballpark stretched for about a half-mile.

Many said they came to see Palin, hoping to learn more about her.

"She's a powerful speaker," Kris Weidenbenner, 49, of St. Charles, said afterward.

Weidenbenner took his spot along the third-base line soon after gates opened at 1:30, a half hour early. Standing in the hot sun for about four hours to see McCain and Palin, who began speaking about 5 p.m., "was worth it," he said.

Linda Bauwens, 58, of Weldon Spring, said she was impressed with Palin's record as governor. Her husband, Ron Bauwens, also 58, said Palin is "going to be a bulldog" for the GOP ticket.
Kathy Pfeffer, 56, of Fenton, cited Palin's reform and budget reduction efforts. "She's proven she can do it just as good as a man, if not better," she said.

Earlier Sunday, a top Missouri Democrat -- Sen. Claire McCaskill -- criticized Palin as a "risky" pick during a news conference in Bridgeton. "It shows he is perfectly willing to abandon the modern middle and wrap himself around the radical right in this country," McCaskill said.
But the choice of Palin has been lauded by many social conservatives who like her strong anti-abortion position, among other stances.

McCain and Palin arrived at the park after visiting an emergency command center in Jackson, Miss., to check on preparations for dealing with Hurricane Gustav on the Gulf Coast.